Over a month has passed since two engineering students were found dead - stripped, gagged and brutally murdered - near Bhushi dam, but the police are yet to zero in on a suspect
Shruti Dumbre with her father, Sanjay
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Over a month has passed since two engineering students were found dead - stripped, gagged and brutally murdered - near Bhushi dam, but the police are yet to zero in on a suspect. The lack of leads and slow pace of investigation has compelled the police to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT), and have also announced a reward of Rs 50,000 to anyone who can give them a lead in the double murder case. Suvez Haque, superintendent of Pune rural police, confirmed the formation of the SIT and the Rs 50,000 reward.
Parents lose patience
Meanwhile, the victims' parents are quickly losing patience. "I have given 20 days to the police to investigate the case. If they fail to do so, my wife and I will start an agitation and go on a hunger strike outside the headquarters of the police superintendent," said Dilip, the father of Sarthak Waghchore (23), whose body was found alongside Shruti Dumbre's (22) in an isolated area between Bhushi dam and INS Shivaji in Lonavla.
Also read - Bhushi dam murder: Lonavala police quiz students
Both the victims were final year students at the Sinhagad Institute of Technology. Shruti's father, Sanjay, said she had spoken to her mother on the phone just a few hours before her murder on the night of April 2. "My daughter was scared of the dark, I don't know what she was doing out so late, or what could have led to her murder. We knew that Sarthak was her friend, but we are not aware of whether they were in a relationship. I have faith that god and the police will not leave such a brutal person to roam free," he said.
He went on, "On March 29, I went to her college to give her a sari, as the next day was sari day at her institute. I never imagined that it would be the last time I would meet her."
Sanjay said that the next day, Shruti was suffering from acidity, so she stayed at her friend's house. After that, she did not return to the hostel.
The case so far
It was Shruti's diary that gave the cops the few leads that they are working on currently. Sources who are part of the investigation told mid-day, "Shruti used to write a journal, and from there we have collected a few clues that we are working on, but nothing has proved fruitful so far."
Also read - Lonavla double murder: Father of deceased student feels a 'hardened criminal' killed his son
The cop added that more than 1,000 students from the college had been interrogated, as well as 100 notorious local goons, but there are still no clues. "Our best police officer who has experience in such cases has been roped in from Ahmednagar. There are four teams working on this, and we are in the process of forming a Special Investigation Team that will exclusively work on this case."
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